Pyrophoric lighter construction



June 7, 1949.

R. l.. BURCHETT 2,472,282

PYROPHORIC LIGHTER CONSTRUCTION Filed May 4, 1945 M if JJ Ja" 45 AT ORNEYv Patented June 7, 1949 PYROPHORIC LIGHTER CONSTRUCTION Ray L. Burchett, Newark, N. J., assigner to Ronson Art Metal Works, Inc., a corporation of New Jersey Application May 4, 1945, Serial No. 591,926

3 Claims.

This invention relates to improved cigar or cigarette lighter constructions and the like.

The invention is particularly adapted for use with pyrophoric lighters of the type having a fuel receptacle and wick accompanied by abradant wheel means, the abradant wheel being actuated by an operating lever. According to one aspect of the invention, the operating lever is manually depressed to thereby compress a spring which is operatively associated therewith. Upon release of the operating lever from such depressed position, by allowing the thumb or linger to slip therefrom, the compressed spring forcibly urges the operating arm by snap action upwardly into contact with a stop provided upon a suitable part of the lighter. This upward stroke of the operating arm causes actuation of the aforesaid abradant wheel means to thereby operate the lighter. I have found that this type of action is unusually convenient and rapid and also effective in insuring that the wick will be lighted. Preferably the operating arm may be connected to the abradant wheel by a pawl and ratchet, for example, to prevent operation of the abradant wheel during the manual downward stroke of the operating arm. According to this aspect of the invention, the spring applies a uniform upwardly-directed pressure to the operating arm each time the lighter is operated, which is entirely independent of the rapidity of the manual downward movement of the operating arm or of the pressure applied bythe user during such downward movement.

According to a preferred example of the invention, one end of the operating arm may be pivoted to the lighter fuel container, and a nger piece may be provided at the other end of the operating arm. The spring for' actuating the lighter may be disposed beneath the linger piece and, if desired, may extend from the top to the bottom of the lighter housing. In this manner such a spring may be utilized as will apply the desired pressure to actuate the operating arm by snap action throughout a fairly long stroke. Also the spring may be removed and replaced readily at the bottom of the fuel receptacle, whereby a spring may be chosen and installed of such strength as will best suit the users desires, or the spring originally installed may be taken out and adjusted to provide the desired normal pressure on the finger piece. Furthermore, when the spring is located beneath the finger piece, a. very advantageous leverage is obtained upon the operating arm which makes the lighter very dependable in operation.

Various other objects, features and advantages of the invention will clearly appear from the detailed description given below taken in connection with the accompanying drawings forming ya part of the specification and illustrating, by way of example, one form of device embodying the invention. The invention resides in such novel features, arrangements, and combination of parts as may be shown and described in connection `with the device herein disclosed.

In the drawings,

Fig. 1 is a plan view of a preferred form of lighter embodying the invention;

Figs. 2 and 3 are, respectively, sectional views taken substantially along the lines 2-2 and 3--3 of Fig. 1;

Fig. 4 is a sectional view taken substantially along the line 4-4 of Fig. 2; and

Fig. 5 is a perspective view of the Windshield used with the lighter shown in Fig. 1.

Referring to the drawings in detail, the lighter as shown comprises a fuel chamber IIJ which is adapted to iit within various suitable types of V, casings or housings, not shown, which may, if

The lower portion of rod desired, be provided with suitable hinged covers. y

A pair of brackets II, I I are mounted on the fuel chamber I0, each bracket including an ear I2. Each ear I2 has a fulcrum shaft I3 extending therethrough which is provided with a flanged portion as at I4 in contact with the adjacent ear I2. A spring I5 is mounted on the fulcrum shafts I3, I3 to thereby urge the respective anged portions I4, I4 against the adjacent ears I2, I2.

A suitable windshield I6, which may be perforated as at II, is mounted at one end upon the fulcrum shafts I3, I3. As shown, the windshield I6 is provided with a slot I8 to receive a resilient locking member I9 which may be secured to the fuel chamber I0 in any suitable manner. The windshield construction is such that the locking member I9 may be readily urged from its normal position in the slot I8 and the windshield swung back on fulcrum shafts I3, I3 to provide access to the lighter mechanism. The windshield I6 may also be provided with a narrow, Vertical slot 20 through vwhich extends an operating arm 2| which is pivotally mounted upon one of the fulcrum shafts I3. The portion of the operating arm 2l which extends outside of the windshield I6 may be provided with a finger piece as at 22 so that the operating arm 2| may be readily depressed bythe user. The finger piece 22 may be recessed as at .23 to receive a pin 24 mounted at the upper end of a vertically-extending rod 25.

25 is slidably mounted within a metal tube 26 extending vertically through the fuel chamber I8. A compression spring 28 is disposed between a pin 2l and a pin 29 extending from a screw 30 which engages a tapped portion 3| at the bottom of the tube 26. As shown, the spring 28 extends substantially from the top to the bottom of the fuel receptacle and may be readily removed or replaced through the bottom. of the fuel receptacle. It will be apparent that the spring 28 urges the operating arm 2| into engagement with a surface 32 of the windshield I6 at the top of the vertical slot 20 and that the surface 32 may be considered as a stop for limiting the upward motion of operating arm 2|.

A shaft 33 is rotatably mounted in suitable slots 34 provided in the brackets An abradant wheel 35 and a ratchet wheel 36 are mounted on the shaft 33 between the brackets A piece of sparking metal 3'| may be held in engagement with the abradant wheel 35 by a spring 38 extending through a metal tube 39 which is tappedas at 48 to receive a screw 4| at the bottom of the fuel chamber I8. As the abradant wheel 35 is rotated in a clockwise direction, Fig. 2, a shower of sparks is directed toward a Wick 42 which extends through a leak-proof sealing member 43 to the interior of the fuel chamber |0. The fuel chamber may be filled with cotton or other absorbent material, as indicated at 44, in order to retain fuel which may be inserted into the chamber lll through suitable apertures as at 45. It will be understood that the apertures 45 may be covered and substantially sealed as by the aforementioned casing or housing structures which are adapted to enclose the described lighter mechanism.

A suitable metal plate 48, Fig. 3, is rotatably mounted upon the shaft 33 and a pawl 4`| is rotatably mounted on a shaft 48 secured to the plate 46. Pawl 41 is urged into engagement with the ratchet 36 by a suitable -spring 49. A projection Fig. l, which is integral with the plate 46, extends into a slot yt2 in the operating arm 2 I.

When the operating arm 2| is manually depressed, the spring 28 is compressed and the projection 5| is forced downwardly thereby rotating the plate 46 and pawl 4l in a counter-clockwise direction, Fig. 3. During such rotation of the pla-te 48, the pawl 4l slips over the teeth of ratchet wheel 36. Accordingly, the shaft 33 together with the abradant wheel 35 remains stationary. When the operating arm 2| is released from its depressed position, the spring 28 forces the operating arm by snap action upwardly into engagement with the stop 32. It will be seen that the operating arm may be readily operated by a single downward stroke of the users finger or thumb which depresses the linger piece 22 and compresses the spring 28, the users thumb slipping off the finger piece as the operating arm reaches its lowermost position to thereby release said operating arm and allow it to move upwardly by snap action into engagement with the stop 32. Responsive to this snapping movement of the operating arm 2|, the plate 46 together with the pawl 47 rotates in a clockwise direction, Fig. 3, the pawl 41 engaging one of the teeth of ratchet wheel 38 to thereby cause rotation of the shaft 33 and the abradant wheel 35Y in a clockwise direction, Fig. 2. Accordingly, the wheel 35 abrades the sparking metal 31 to thereby direct a shower of sparks against the Wick 42 an causey operation of the lighter. Thus, the force for actuating the lighter is provided by spring 28 during the upward stroke of the operating arm 2| and is entirely independent of the rapidity or force with which the operating arm 2| is manually depressed. Accordingly, the lighter is very dependable in operation since a uniform pressure is applied to turn the abradant wheel 35 by spring 28 at each actuation of the lighter.

Furthermore, access may be readily had to the sparking mechanism and wick by disengaging the locking member |9 from the slot I8 and swinging the windshield I8 back upon the fulcrum shafts I3, I3. The operating arm 2| may be suflciently resilient that the projection 5| may be easily disengaged from the slot 52 and the operating arm swung back upon its fulcrum shaft to thereby permit removal of rod 25. In this manner the operating arm 2| is also moved away from the wick and the lighter mechanism so as to allow access thereto.

It will be further appreciated that the operating arm 2| is pivoted at one side of the lighter while the nger piece 22 is located at a remote point at the other side. Accordingly, a very at- Vantageous leverage is obtained when the spring 28 moves the arm 2| by snap action upwardly into engagement with the stop 32. Moreover, the spring 28 may be made longer than the springs heretofore generally used for actuating lighter mechanisms, since said spring 28 may extend all the way from the top to the bottom of the lighter, if desired. Accordingly, the actuating stroke of the mechanism is relatively long, insuring dependable lighting action,

While the invention has been described with respect to a present preferred embodiment which has given satisfactory results and certain modications have been referred to, it will be understood by those skilled in the art, after understanding the invention, that various other changes and modifications may be made without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention and it is intended, therefore, in the appended claims to cover all such changes and modifications.

What. is claimed as new and desired to be secured by Letters Patent is:

`1v. A lighter comprising, in combination, a fuel containerv having a top surface, an abradant wheel mounted adjacent one extremity of said surface, a wick member mounted adjacent said abradant wheel, said container having a passage extending therethrough with an outlet adjacent the opposite extremity of said surface, an angularly shiftable operating arm for said abradant wheel, said arm being pivotally mounted adjacent said abradant wheel and extending substantially the full length of said top surface and being provided with a finger piece adjacent said opposite extremity of the top surface, a limit stop for limiting the angular motion of said arm away from said container, a helical spring mounted in said passage and extending substantially the full length thereof, a plunger axially shiftable in said passage and operatively associated with said helical spring, said plunger being adapted for engaging said finger piece of said arm to urge same away from said top surface and against said limit stop, said operating arm being substantially para-lle] to the top surface of the container when i theY arm is urged against said limit stop, said helical spring thus being adapted for moving said finger piece by snap action from a position adz jacent said top surface to a position remote there` from to actuate said abradant wheel, and a.

closure member detachably secured to said container for closing that extremity of said passage remote from said finger piece.

2. A lighter, comprising in combination, a fuel container having a top surface, an abradant Wheel mounted adjacent one extremity of said surface, an operating arm pivotally mounted at one extremity thereof adjacent said abradant wheel, said operating arm extending substantially the full length of said top surface and being provided with a nger piece adjacent the opposite extremity thereof, a limit stop mounted upon said container and above the top surface thereof for limiting the angular motion of said operating arm, said container having a passage extending therethrough adjacent and beneath said nger piece, a helical spring mounted in said passage, a plunger adapted for axial movement in said passage for operatively interconnecting the spring and said finger piece, said spring being adapted normally for urging said arm against said limit stop whereby the spring is normally in an extended condition and said operating arm is in a substantially horizontal position relative to the top surface of said container, and means for operatively interconnecting said operating arm with said abradant Wheel so constructed and arranged that When said finger piece is depressed and suddenly released said operating arm Will actuate said abradant Wheel.

3. A lighter comprising in combination, a fuel container having a top surface, an a-bradant wheel mounted adjacent one extremity of said surface, mechanism for urging a pyrophoric elem ment against said Wheel, a Wick member mounted adjacent said abradant wheel, said container having a passage member extending therethrough with an outlet adjacent the opposite extremity of said top surface, an angularly shiftable operating arm for said abradant wheel, said arm being pivotally mounted at one extremity thereof adjacent said wheel and extending substantially the full length of said top surface and being provided with a finger piece at the opposite extremity thereof, a limit stop mounted upon said container for limiting the extent of angular motion of said operating arm between said container and stop to approximately thirty degrees, said arm being substantially parallel to the top surface of the container when resting against said limit stop, a helical spring mounted in said passage member, and a plunger axially shiftable in said passage and urged by said helical spring against said nger piece whereby said arm is urged against said limit stop, said helical spring being adapted through the intermediary of said plunger for moving said finger piece by snap action from a position adjacent the top container surface to a position approximately 30 removed therefrom to actuate said abradant Wheel.

RAY L. BURCHETT.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file of this patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 1,753,835 Projahn Apr. 8, 1930 1,754,319 Holtzman Apr. 15, 1930 1,755,951 Dubsky Apr. 22, 1930 2,086,412 Florman July 6, 1937 FOREIGN PATENTS Number Country Date 327,034 Germany Oct. 12, 1920 .349,765 Germany Mar. 7, 1922 321,323 Great Britain Nov. 7, 1929 367,165 Great Britain Feb. 18, 1932 

